7 signs of dementia you should not ignore

Dementia is a mental condition that is used as a general term to define the declination of mental ability. These can be severe enough to interfere with daily life. Alzheimer’s is associated with the most common type of dementia. Other examples include thought impairment, speech impairment, and memory loss.

Recognizing the symptoms of dementia is really important as one cannot conclude memory loss with dementia. To confirm the diagnosis as dementia, the person needs to have at least 2 mental impairments that might interfere with everyday life.

Short-term memory loss is also associated with dementia. The following mental impairments are recognized as dementia symptoms.

Frequent changes in mood
Frequent change in mood is a sign of dementia. It might not be easy recognizing symptoms of dementia. For instance, depression is an early sign of dementia. The person might also see a change or shift in the personality along with the frequent mood changes. A person suffering from dementia will usually shy away from socializing. This is mainly because this condition affects judgement.

A failing sense of direction
With the onset of dementia, the person might start experiencing detonation in sense of direction or spatial orientation. As the mental condition progresses, the person might fail to recognize familiar landmarks and regularly used directions.

Being repetitive
One of the most common signs of dementia is general behavioral changes. The person may repeat daily tasks unknowingly and may also collect some items obsessively. One of the peculiar signs of dementia is when a person repeatedly asks the same question in a conversation that have already been answered.

Confusion

People with dementia may suffer from confusion in the early stages. They might experience
lapses in judgement, thinking, and memory as they might fail remembering faces, find the right words, or even interact with people normally.

Short-term memory changes
One of the key factors in recognizing dementia symptoms is subtle short-term memory changes. An older person suffering from the early signs of dementia might remember details about an event from the past year but may fail to remember what they had for breakfast.

Apathy

A person with this symptom could lose interest in hobbies or activities that they used to love doing earlier. A person suffering from dementia might even lose interest in socializing or spending time with friends and family and might appear emotionally flat.

Struggling to adapt to changes
Once a person recognizes the symptoms of dementia, the realization of the same might instill fear. The impairment of forgetting things and people might make them very hesitant to try new experiences and try new experiences. A difficulty to adapt to change is also considered as a sign of dementia.

Dementia is more common in people aged 65 and above; however, its onset can be experienced in people as early as in their 40s and 50s. Diagnosing and recognizing dementia symptoms in the early stages can slow the progression of the disease, thereby maintaining proper mental function. If you are dealing with a person who is suffering with dementia, you need to be very patient of the behavioral changes in the person because it is a frightening mental condition that even they cannot comprehend.